DIY SPEAKERS MANUAL
This is a step-by-step guide to soldering your own
amplifier and create your own set of speakers. You will
need a soldering iron, protective eye wear and some
materials to build your speakers with.
We hope you enjoy this creative task, learn some new
technological skills and apply them to your life in useful
ways. Enjoy!
MAKING YOUR DIY SPEAKERS
Parts:
1) Diode (black tube with grey mark on one end)
2) 2 X 22 K Ohm Resistors (Red, Red, Orange, Gold )
3) 2 X 2.2 K Ohm Resistors (Red, Red, Red Gold )
4) 2 X 10 K Ohm Resistors ( Brown, Black, Orange, Gold )
5) 2 X 4.7 Ohm Resistors ( Yellow, Violet, & Gold )
6) 1 X 33 Ohm Resistor ( Orange, Orange, Black, Gold )
7) 1 X Red LED (Light Emitting Diode)
8) 1 X Stereo Input Jack
9) 1 X Switch
10) 1 X 8 Pin black socket
11) 2 X 220 nF (nano Farad) Capacitors
12) 2 X 330 nF Capacitors
13) 1 X 0.1 uF (micro Farad) Capacitors (round ceramic)
14) 1 X 10 uF Capacitors (cylinder)
15) 2 X 100 uF Capacitors (cylinder)
16) 2 X 470 uF Capacitors (cylinder)
17) 2 X Orange Terminal Blocks
18) 2 X 4.7 K Ohm Potentiometers (variable resistors)
19) 1 X 8 Pin Integrated Circuit (IC) TDA2822 amplifier
20) 1 X Battery Holder
21) PCB - printed circuit board with stereo jack attached
22) Blue or White Tack (not included, but helpful for soldering)
23) Stereo cable
24) Double Sided Foam Tape
25) 2 X Exciters (Speakers)
1.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
9. 10.
11.
12.
13. 14. 15.
16.
21.
17.
19.
18.
20.
24.
22.
23.
25.
1. Diode
1.1 Bend the diode’s legs 90 degrees. Make the
bend at around 3mm away from either side of the
black cylinder.
1.2 Insert it into the PCB.
Top tip: The diode has a direction - which means it
must go into the PCB the right way! Match the grey
mark on the diode with the grey mark on the PCB.
1.3 Make sure the diode’s legs are pushed all the way
through the PCB.
1.4 Turn the PCB around and bend the legs of the diode at
around 45 degrees to the board.
1.5 Solder the Diode to the PCB!
- Take out your soldering iron, and touch the side of the tip
to the point where the leg meets the solder pad.
- Heat the point where they meet for 3-5 seconds.
- Add solder until enough melts to cover the solder pad
and the base of the diode’s leg.
- Remove the solder and leave the iron for another second.
- Remove the soldering iron and you should be left with a
perfectly soldered joint!
Top tip: Melted solder likes to attach itself to very hot surfaces - so you want to make sure that both the parts you’re
trying to connect are given equal heat. Otherwise you’ll
end up with what is called the dreaded “cold joint” - which
will result in an F in your soldering exam!
1.6 After soldering both the legs, pick up the side cutters in
your right hand. With your left, hold one of the legs of the
diode. Clip it at its base. Repeat for the other leg.
Top tip: You’re holding the leg to prevent it from flying into
your or someone else’s eyeball! Please remember that
eyeballs are not easily replaceable and you should always
be very careful when clipping the legs off of your
components.
2. Resistors:
2.1 Take any one of your resistors and bend both the legs
as close to the resistor’s body as you can. Use your finger
or the table to help!
2.2 Repeat this with all the resistors.
2.3 Place the resistors in the following order from top to
bottom (as in the image below):
- R5: 22 K (Red, Red, Orange, Gold)
- R7: 2.2K (Red, Red, Red, Gold)
- R2 & R1: 10 K (Brown, Black, Orange, Gold)
- R4 & R3: 4.7 Ohm (Yellow, Violet, Gold, Gold)
R5
R7
R2,R1
R4,R3
2.4 Bend all their legs out 45 degrees, and solder them in
place. Once soldered, clip of the legs with your side
cutters.
2.5 Place and solder two of the last three resistors in
this order:
- R6: 22 K (Red, Red, Orange, Gold)
- R8: 2.2K (Red, Red, Red, Gold)
2.6 Place and solder the final 33 Ohm ( Orange, Orange,
Black, Gold )resistor into its position R9.
2.7 Once soldered in place, clip the legs. The good news:
You’ve just finished the resisters!
3. LED (Light Emitting Diode)
Take the LED and look at its legs. You’ll see that one is
longer than the other. This means that it has to be inserted
into the PCB in the right way!
The longer leg is called the Anode - which likes to have
power and the shorter one is the Cathode - which likes to
have ground.
3.1 Insert the LED and solder it in place.
4. Take the green stereo jack and place it next. It will slot
very comfortably in place where the PCB says “Stereo IN”.
Solder it in and move onto the next component!
5 Insert the Switch into the position marked “S1” adjacent
to the LED. Solder all 5 pins in place.
6. Take the 8 pin black socket and insert it where the PCB is
marked “TDA2822“. You’ll notice there is a notch in the illustration on the PCB and a notch in the 8 pin socket. Keep
these aligned when inserting, and solder it in!
7. Capacitors:
7.1 We’ll begin by soldering the non-polarized capacitors. IE: the ones which can go into their places any way
around!
Find the 220nF, 330nF and 0.1uF capacitors.
7.2 Insert the capacitors in the following positions:
- 220nF capacitors into C8 & C9
- 330nF capacitors into C10 & C11
- 0.1uF capacitors into C6 & C7
C10, C11
C6, C7
C8, C9
7.3 Onto the Electrolytic Capacitors.
WARNING! These ones are polarized - which means they
can only go into the PCB in a particular way.
Find the 10uF, 100uF and 470uF electrolytic capacitors.
7.4 Take the smallest one - the 10uF capacitor and look at its
legs. You’ll see that one is longer than the other.
Top tip: If you ever find an electronic component with
different length legs, you know immediately that it can’t be
installed any which way. So pay attention to its orientation!
7.5. If you look at the PCB, you’ll see a “+” next to one of
the plated holes. The long leg is “plus sized”, so it should be
inserted next to the “+”.
7.6 With this in mind, Insert the electrolytic capacitors into
the following positions:
- 10uF capacitors into C3 (thinnest cylinder)
- 100uF capacitors into C1 & C2
- 470uF capacitors into C3 & C4 (widest cylinders)
C3
C1, C2
C4, C5
7.7. Turn over the PCB and bend the legs of all the electrolytic capacitors out at 45 degrees. Solder them all in, and
clip the legs.
Top tip: These “polarized” capacitors must be connected
the right way around. The long leg is inserted on the “+”
side because that is where the voltage is going into it. The
other side will have to be lower than that voltage and in
the world of electronics we refer to the other side or the
“-” side as ground.
8. Solder in the 2 Orange Terminal Block connectors.
Connect them with the white levers on side of the 0.1 uF
capacitors - like the picture below.
11. Solder the two potentiometers in place.
12. Integrated Circuit (IC):
12.1 The IC is an amplifier chip. It must be placed inside the
8 pin socket you soldered previously. If you look carefully
at the chip, you’ll see a notch in the center of the one end.
12.2 Carefully insert the IC into its socket so that the notch
is directed towards the LED.
Top Tip: The reason for using a socket is to make sure that
we don’t over-heat the IC by soldering it directly.
13. The battery holder:
13.1 Before we solder the battery holder in place, its a
good idea to test test test! So insert 2x AA batteries (not
included) into the battery holder.
13.2 Insert the battery holder into the PCB from behind. It
goes in on the edge of the board closest to the IC.
13.3. Bend its legs out at 45 degrees to keep it in place. It
will also ensure that they make contact with the conductive pads which we will solder them to later. Turn the
switch on...
Does the LED go on???
If so, congratulations!
If not, try the following:
- press down on the bent legs of the battery to ensure
contact.
. Try the switch again in both directions while pressing the
battery legs.
- Are you sure you put batteries in?
- Go back through the manual and make sure you put everything in the right way around.
- Check the forum at twsu.co/forum for support
13.4 Remove the battery holder and find the double sided
foam tape. Attach the foam tape to the back of the battery
holder on the other end to the legs. Then reveal the other
sticky side of the tape before inserting the legs back into
the PCB.
13.5 Solder the legs in place and trim them.
13.6 Turn the switch on again to make sure the LED turns
on and everything is in good shape.
14. Attach your Exciters
14.1 Each exciter (speaker) has two cables. Your amplifier
has two orange terminal block connectors. All you need to
do is match one terminal block with one exciter - and away
you go!
-
14.2 Depress one of the white levers of the terminal blocks
and then insert one of the wires from the exciter into the
slot.
Top Tip: Whichever one of the exciter cables you plug into
the first slot of your terminal block, make sure the other
exciter wire goes into the same terminal block!
CONGRATULATIONS!
You have now completed your Uber Amp 9000, and
attached it to your exciters! All that is left is to attach the
exciters to various materials, and begin experimenting
with sound waves and surfaces. Enjoy exploring different
material’s responses to the vibrations emitted by your
exciters. Then decide on a material you want to become
your speakers!
THANK YOU
Technology Will Save Us exists to educate and inspire
people to make, tinker and experiment creatively with
technology as a way of unleashing new possibilities.
Devices, gadgets, computers are all a part of our everyday
life and yet most people know so little about what these
things are made of, let alone how to fix them or create new
uses for them. We believe that the opportunity for
technology to play a richer, more creative role in our lives
has yet to be explored.
Interested in more classes? Have an idea of a workshop
we should teach? Do you want to teach a class? We’d love
to hear from you. Contact us on email or find out more on
our website:
info@technologywillsaveus.org
www.technologywillsaveus.org
@techwillsaveus